Dead Frontier/Issue 99
This is Issue #99 of Dead Frontier by Walkerbait22, titled Clash. ''This is the third issue in '''Volume 17.' Issue 99 - Clash It’s the day of. With the lobby still in shambles from Roxie’s last attack, Cole sits in the cafeteria instead, which has been set up with a few tables. They're not set to leave for hours, but he's already up as most others are still fast asleep. His anxiety made it next to impossible to sleep, so he decided to rise early and gather any weapons or supplies he'll need to take with him. He has a book in his hand to pass the time. He loses himself in the words, flipping through the pages until he doesn't know how long he's been there. The thing that finally brings him out of the book and back to real life is someone clearing their throat behind him. He turns to find Lucy standing there, and she quickly takes a seat next to him at the table. "What's the book that's got you so interested?" she asks. He's caught off guard. They haven't had a real conversation in over a month, and now she's trying to chat with him like any old friend, it seems like. But then he remembers today is different than most others, and the possibility of not seeing one another after it's over is more than likely. He points the cover towards her, and she observes it carefully. "'Fear the Living,'" she says. "Very fitting." "Yeah. I mean, I just picked it because it had a really cool cover, but it happened to be about a guy and the apocalypse. So yeah...very fitting. And I'd like to keep reading it, if that's okay with you. Not to be rude or anything." As a response, she swiftly takes the book from his hands, slams it shut, and tosses it onto the table. "Look, I'm not here to argue. But there's something important I need to talk to you about, and I'd appreciate it if you just let me do that." "Fine. What is it?" She hesitates, but then says, "It's probably not even important to you, and maybe I’m the last person you want to talk to today, but I thought you should know that I decided not to go.” “Really? But you said--” “I know. I said I was going to. But I was up all night thinking it over, and I just told Griffin. He was okay with it.” “What changed your mind?” “I’m not gonna lie to you. I’m way too scared. I know I’m not like you and all the other people living here, the big heroes, the brave guys that risk their lives for everyone else. If the time came, and it was my responsibility to...murder someone or something, I’d probably freeze up. I’m not ready for this, and I know it. I can admit it.” “Wow,” he says. He fiddles with his fingers, looking down at the table. “Then...this is the final goodbye. Maybe.” “I hope not. And whatever you may think I feel about you, Cole, I’m praying you come back in one piece, okay?” “Me too,” he says, and she cracks a small smile. ---- A meeting point for Lane Tech and Hyatt was decided a week ago between Nico and Griffin. An old factory building just a few miles out of downtown. Cars and people now infest the factory lot as everything is organized: people are matched to their assigned cars, appropriate weapons are given out, and every person is accounted for. Griffin is checking one last time that everyone that should be here is, and if there’s anyone here that shouldn’t be. He nearly loses it when he spots Jake trying to hide behind a small group of people, his attempts at being unnoticed an obvious failure. “What the fuck--kid, I said you’re not supposed to be here!” Griffin shouts, causing a small scene as he pulls Jake away by the arm. “I--I had to, I r-really wanted to. You’re acting l-like I’m seven fucking years old,” Jake says. “Doesn’t matter anyway, b-because I’m here already. C-can’t send me back.” “You’ve really been pissing me off lately, you know that?” “I don’t c-care. You’re being a-an asshole.” “You better watch yourself.” “This lady sh-shot my mom in f-front of me, asshole, so maybe I w-want a chance to get back at her,” Jake says. He snatches his arm way from Griffin, his expression practically daring him to say something else, and he walks away. Cole watches the entire thing from his position on top of one of the car hoods. He has his feet perched up on the bumper, another cigarette in his mouth. “What’d I tell you about smoking?” says a voice to his right. He turns and sees Kendra with a sly smile on her face. “You said it’s terrible and I shouldn’t do it. Blah, blah, blah, whatever,” he says. “Exactly,” she says, and he scoots over as she takes a seat next to him on the hood. “I want to quit, believe me, but I need a way to calm down. They make my nerves less jumpy.” “Yeah, and fill your lungs with tar, too.” He rolls his eyes, and she laughs. “I’m kidding. You’re a grown man, do what you want.” “Thanks. But how are you staying so calm?” “Lots of practice with these kinds of situations. Going into something you don’t think you’ll make it out of. Eventually you get used to that nervous feeling and don’t let it show on the outside. And being a mom helps. Telling your kid everything’s fine when it isn’t is...second nature almost. Keeping on that strong face.” “You’re pretty good at it. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were going on a little trip to the store instead of into the camp of a psycho. You’re gonna have to give me some tips.” “You’ll learn,” she says. “I’ve got 11 years of practice with Ivy, so it comes a little easier.” “How is she, by the way?” “Good. Good. She wasn’t really stable this morning when I left but I told her everything would be fine and I’d be back soon. Putting on the brave face again.” She sighs, and he can tell that brave demeanor is slowly chipping away. He puts an arm around her shoulder, pulling the cigarette out his mouth and holding it in his left hand. “You’re gonna see her again, so don’t even worry about it.” He gives her a reassuring nod, and she reluctantly reciprocates it. “Stop being so damn sweet.” “It’s my best quality, I can’t help it.” She laughs, and just to lift her spirits a little more, he tosses his cigarette to the ground and crushes it with his foot, extinguishing the tiny flame. Just minutes before they’re set the go, Mae, Winston, Dean, and Stephanie congregate around the car they’re assigned to leave in. “You think we’ll get her?” Mae asks. “We better,” Winston says. “Wanna get this over with in one go.” “We obviously won’t,” Dean says. “All of her minion assholes will protect her with their lives.” “But we outnumber her, most likely,” Stephanie says. “Unless she has an army or something.” “And if she does? Goodbye us.” “If she did, she’d have used it by now and taken us all out. We’ve got the upper hand.” “Don’t be so sure. She’s psychotic; she could easily have something up her sleeve.” “Ugh. We shouldn’t be thinking everything is gonna go to shit, Dean,” Stephanie says. "Too bad, because it is." "Then why are you even here, if you're so sure we're gonna fail?" Mae asks. "Okay, there's a chance, I'll admit it, that maybe we'll get rid of her. And as much as Lane is a pile of crap, I still live there, and I'll defend it." "Aren't you just so brave?" Winston says. "Whatever, Winsty," Dean says with a smug smirk. "Don't fucking call me 'Winsty.' I'm not telling you again." "Okay, Winsters." "This is why no one likes you, man." Before Dean can think up another nickname, though, Griffin grabs their attention. "We're heading out," he shouts, just so everyone can hear him. "Let's go." ---- They ride out of the city. Nico, having only been to Roxie's camp once before to trade supplies a few months ago, works to remember the way. He drives the first car that leads the convoy of many. Griffin, in the car behind, hears his walkie talkie crackle, and Nico's voice soon overcomes the static. "Sending the first group in," Nico says, and nearly a dozen cars push forward while the rest stay still. The men watching the gate are obviously taken off guard at the army of cars plowing toward them. Gunfire suddenly erupts from the car windows, and each guard is down and out before they can even fire a shot. All car engine's shut off, besides three SUVs that press their bumpers against the gate, working to bring it down. Like planned, they split into three groups. One that goes left and one that goes right, each surveying the camps perimeter. The third stays at the camp's forefront, waiting for the gates to fall. At the sound of gunfire, Nico orders the rest of the cars to proceed forward. The entirety of the camp is surrounded by makeshift walls, and the group scouring the left-most side consists of nearly 15, including Adam, Billie, Duke, and Luke. Activity is still quiet inside the walls, but that can’t last for long. They stick close together, their backs to the wall, facing the trees that are adjacent. The wall comes to an end soon, and on the other side, immediately around the corner, is the back gate. Duke peeks his head around the corner for a quick second, and spots a few men talking in frenzied voices. They have guns, but seem to be to be too preoccupied with the current situation to notice them. Duke nods to Luke, and they turn and open fire. All five men go down with nothing but a few shouts of pain. “How do we get the gate open?” Adam asks. “No idea...” Duke says. “They have to come out this way eventually, right?” “Maybe...” a red-headed man says. “If they don’t?” “Then we head back to the front,” Billie says. “But if we can find a way in through here, we’ve got an advantage. I don’t know if they’d expect us to come through here.” “Climb over, maybe?” Duke suggests. “No, too high, too risky,” someone says. Duke’s eyes suddenly go wide, and Billie furrows her eyebrows at him. “Watch out!” he shouts, and raises his gun. One of the guards from before still moves, and from his place on the ground he raises a pistol. Blood pours from his mouth but he’s still able to aim with sufficient accuracy. Everyone turns to follow Duke’s line of vision, including Billie and Luke, who stands a few feet in front of her and to her left, Duke fires at the man, hitting him right between the eyes, but two shots have already been fired from his pistol, one of which that hits Luke right in the throat, and another that hits a man in his knee. Luke’s rifle falls from his hands, and he clutches his throat, falling backwards. Straight into Billie’s arms, causing her to drop her firearm, too. She struggles to keep him standing, but he’s much bigger, and they both fall to the ground, his head landing in her lap. She stares down at his face in silent shock, trying to make sense of what just happened so quickly, and three women rush to their aid. His blood rapidly begins to cover her clothes, her hands, until Duke pulls her to her feet. “Oh, shit...” Duke says. Billie’s eyes have been locked on Luke’s dying body the entire time, and now so are his. A woman pulls off her pack and uses a few rags to put pressure on the wound, although it’s a futile effort as Luke’s body goes slack. ---- The second half of the entire group--this one now including Cole, Alec, Jake, and Tora--exit their cars near the front gate. The front gates have been taken down by this time, and as a group breaches the camp, Cole, Alec, Jake, Tora, and a few others survey the carnage. Roxie’s people have begun to compose themselves and now fire back; a few gunshots rattle against the hood of the car they stand near, and they duck behind it. “They fucking bounce back quick,” Alec mutters. “They still look outnumbered, though,” Cole says. “Good sign.” “Yeah, but look,” Tora says. There are a few recognizable bodies amongst the ones that lie motionless in the camp’s center. “We’re losing people fast. Faster than we can afford to.” “Then we need to end this as soon as possible. Let’s go.” ---- “What in the fuck is happening?!” Roxie screams at Walter, the gunfire outside ear shattering even in the safety of her home. “It’s the fucking hotel, and Lane, too, I think,” Walter explains, sweet glistening on his forehead. “They actually had to balls to do it.” “Those fucking--” She kicks over the small stand that’s placed next to her recliner, the lamp that sits atop it shattering to the ground. “Let them loose. Let the infected loose, now.” “Woah, woah, woah, Rox, our people our out there too. The infected don’t discriminate, you know.” Roxie turns on him instantly, grabbing him by the shirt and putting her face close. “I don’t care. Don’t fucking question me, and let them loose now. They’re not expecting it, and a group that big will drive them out.” He nods, but he looks nervous. She can tell, just from the look in his eyes, he doesn’t want to. But he knows the chances of him speaking against her again are low enough that she doesn’t have to worry. “''Go'',” she says. ---- Cole, Alec, Jake, Tora, and now Chloe, who wears a small backpack carrying any medical supplies that could be needed, have infiltrated successfully, and now hide behind a house that appears to be empty, along with around 12 others. Cole dares to peek his head out, and his eyes go wide. “Infected,” he says simply. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Alec says. “And a lot of them.” Jake checks for himself, and a near stampede of infected barrel down a grass-filled area of the camp, and spread out in different directions, attacking any piece of flesh they set eyes on. To save themselves, some of Roxie’s people fire back at them. “What do we do?” a man asks. Cole searches the immediate vicinity for a better spot to hide, but can’t find one, and knows hiding won’t get the job done. “We can...look, over there,” Tora says, and she points toward a large brick building that seems to be ignored. No one comes in or out, and it hasn’t caught the eye of any infected. If they can find a way inside, then maybe they can be safe long enough to calm down and formulate a plan to deal with the unexpected threat of infected. “We’ll go first,” a tall guy says, and he gestures to his two buddies behind him. They peek around the corner of the house first and take a collective deep breath before running into the open. There’s a chorus of shouting, and one man goes down with a shot to the knee. The other two keep running, leaving him for the dead. Everyone else watches anxiously as they make it to apparent safety and begin working on getting the door open. But it won’t budge. Only after smashing his shoulder against the door a few more times does it open, and they rush through the doorway, slamming it shut behind them. Cole takes this as a good sign, and looks to the others for confirmation. They nod, and he takes another peek. They infected are steadily approaching, and the longer they take the probability of being noticed gets even higher. He takes the lead, running out into the open for just a moment, everyone else follows. The man shot in the knee earlier lies motionless on the ground, bullet holes now covering his back. It looks like the infected have distracted Roxie’s people enough that they don’t fire, but they don’t wait to find out. The faster of the infected have reached their location, though, and Jake fires a shot into the face of one that locks eyes on him. Tora runs, too, and spots an infected in the corner of her eye. She reaches to her side and pulls her knife. But she stops mid swing and freezes. She’s face to face with Hiro, and he lunges directly at her. But before he can take a bite out of her, Alec, with his riot shield attached to his left arm, bashes Hiro with his shield. He quickly retrieves his knife and, as he goes to stab Hiro in the head, realizes why Tora has suddenly frozen up. But he has no time to dwell on it. He shoves the tip of the blade into his forehead and begins to sprint with everyone else back to the building. He tries to pull Tora, but she’s still petrified, staring at Hiro’s body. Out in the open, with infected closing in. Cole turns his head for just a second and sees her standing there. “Tora!” he says. Jake and two others turn also, and they fire at the infected that pose a threat to her, and they all fall to the dirt. Tora only realizes her mistake too late, and a few shots are fired as they’re finally noticed. One pierces her stomach, and she clutches her midsection as she hits the ground. With only one hand, Cole knows Alec isn’t any help to carry her, so he takes his own initiative to rush to Tora, bending down to lift her into his arms. Everyone has already ran, sights set on the building, but that plan seems to have backfired as the infected now march toward it. He sees that everyone else has noticed the impromptu change of plans, and they now head toward a small section of parked cars to their left. A bullet nearly misses him as he runs with Tora, her eyes barely open. He immediately ducks behind the cars with everyone else, setting Tora on the ground. He looks at her helplessly, and wipes the blood onto his pants. “Would you move out of the fucking way?!” Chloe shouts at him, already pulling equipment out of her bag. It takes him a few seconds to take in everything that just happened, but he moves back and lets Chloe and another woman go to work. “Y-yeah, we’re fucked,” Jake says, and then he turns his attention to Alec, who has his head above the car hood just enough that he can see. “What the h-hell are you doing, man? Get down!” “I see her. Roxie,” Alec says. “She went into some house down there. She’s still alive. We’ve gotta go now, now that we know where she is.” “Woah, woah, woah,” Cole says. “We can’t just go out there. They know we’re somewhere around here. And we have to deal with Tora.” “Chloe’s fucking dealing with it! This is our chance!” “Alec, think this through--” “I’m going. Whoever wants to come with me, come on.” “''Alec''!” But he doesn’t listen and crouches from behind the safety of the cars. He raises his shield for protection against any possible incoming bullets. Cole just shakes his head as he disappears behind a nearby house. ---- Alec proceeds through the camp, using several obstacles and his shield as cover. Two anxious and frightened guards exit a house he passes; they’re surprised by the sight of his shield and hesitate to shoot, a perfect chance that Alec takes. He bashes one in the face and uses the pistol in his good hand to take down the other. As one man is still stunned by the hit to the face, Alec delivers a single gunshot to his head. The journey doesn’t take long as he plays it smart: staying quiet and hiding behind anything he can. To his delight, the house that, as far as he knows, Roxie is holed up in, has a back door. He slips through, into a dimly lit hallway. He hears hushed voices, and then Roxie raises her voice, screaming an array of profanities. The other of the voices just sighs, and Alec hears footsteps approaching his direction. He readies his shield, and when the person exits the room and turns to him, Alec hits him with the shield. He’s a guy in his mid 40s, bald and scrawny. Alec cringes when the body hits a floor with a ‘thud,’ hoping Roxie, or whoever else might be in the house didn’t hear. Alec retrieves his knife, and delivers the killing blow to the man’s head. However, Alec doesn’t prove to be so lucky. “What the fuck is going on--” she says, leaving the room, but then she sees Alec at the end of the hall, his riot shield raised to protect his torso. He has a gun in his hand, pointed directly at her. But in his rage, he shakes, and his eyes tear up just at the sight of being face to face with her, the woman responsible for Devon’s death. Roxie reaches to her holster and points the pistol directly at him. The only difference between them being she’s absolutely calm, cool, and collected. But he looks like he’s ready to explode at any second. “Hey, kid,” she says. “You should really put your gun down. Shooting me is gonna be the biggest mistake you make today.” But he doesn’t budge. “It’s all your fucking fault,” he says, his voice shaking. “One fucking person, caused all of this.” “Really? I’m sorry you feel that way.” “You’re not sorry for shit.” “That’s absolutely true. But you will be if you don’t get that fucking barrel pointed away from me.” This is his chance. To pull the trigger. The final act that’ll extinguish this agonizing flame that’s been burning inside of him. And right before he can, Roxie suddenly gives a nod, and she dives to the room on her left. Alec fires a shot, but she’s already out of the way. And a shotgun blast hits him in the back of the head. Walter stands near the back door, looking down at Alec’s body. He just snuck in through the back, saw the predicament, and acted. Not without Roxie’s consent, of course. He walks to Alec, and stands over him. He fires one last shot to his head, just to make sure. ---- Mae, Dean, Kendra, Stephanie, Winston, and a group of 20 others--the largest of all--have breached the infirmary. It’s oddly absolutely empty. Either no one is injured, or they had a pretty good plan to evacuate a ton of injured people in case of emergency. “We’ll split up. Looks empty...a few of you stay with me and look around,” Mae says. “The rest of you, head to the next building over and clear it out.” There’s a few murmurs as people decide how to split up. Mae keeps her ears and eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary, when she hears a groan from somewhere near the back. She grabs Winston by the arm to get his attention, and orders him to come with her. They hear nothing else, but she does her best to detect the location of wherever the sound came from. The only place that would make any sense to search is a supply closet. She puts her head against the door, but hears silence. She puts her hand to the knob and turns, opening the door slowly, her pistol grasped in her right hand as her rifle is slung over her shoulder. Besides the messy shelves stacked with medicine, all she sees is someone slumped in the corner. It’s Sterling, grasping his knee. He looks up at her and shakes his head for mercy. But he’s not allowed to say a word, because she fires a quick shot into his head. ---- Still in their same location near the cars, Cole, Jake, and the others have come up with a plan: half fight off infected, and the others provide cover fire against any human threats. Cole brings his hatchet down on an infected’s head, the blade slipping in and out cleanly, and does the same to one on his left. He’s out of breath, sweating, anxious that at any moment a bullet could rip through his skull, or a pair of teeth come down on his shoulder. But he tries to keep that thought out of his mind as he focuses on the task at hand: getting rid of everyone that inhabits this camp. Cole sees the trouble Jake’s having. He’s not used to a hectic situation like this, and as an infected approaches him a little too close, Cole smashes the hatchet blade into the back of its head. Jake gives a quick nod of thanks and pushes his knife up and into the chin of a corpse, pulling it out immediately after. Cole then notices a familiar group of people fleeing back toward the gates. “Fall back! Griffin’s orders!” a voice repeatedly calls. “We have to go,” a man says, and when no one responds, he immediately bails on his duty of providing cover fire and runs to the gates. Those fighting the infected would run, but they’re trapped on all sides, a circle of undead surrounding them. “Jake! I’ll clear you a path, and you run, okay?!” Cole says, kicking an infected away with his foot. “You t-too, right?” he asks. “If I can.” Cole enlists the help of another dark-haired man to clear out a set path, taking out row after row. “Go!” Cole orders, and a few people follow Jake away through the clearing. Enough of Roxie’s people have been taken out that they’re relatively safe, the only danger being a few poorly aimed gunshots and some straggling infected. The dark-haired man suddenly runs with them, too, as the opening to flee closes rapidly. Cole is left with one other man, and they work to clear a path for themselves. And just as they do, a small group of men proceed from a house, guns readily aimed. They mow down a group of infected, and Cole and the man give each other a panicked look. Their chance to reach the gate now is officially out the window, so they push through the small opening of infected and run. But the man is grabbed, and their location is now obvious. He’s done for, screaming in pain as rotten teeth rip into his flesh, and Cole doesn’t even give a second thought to not saving him. ---- Jake reaches the gates with Chloe and the others, one of which carries Tora. They all pile into the cars, besides Jake, who stops when he spots Billie, Adam, and Duke shouting at each other. “Are you fucking serious?!” Duke screams in Billie’s face. “You wanna go back in there?” “They’re not here, then where the fuck are they?!” she says, still distraught over Luke’s death and now having to deal with the fact that Alec, Jake, Tora, Chloe, and Cole are nowhere to be seen. But then she sees Chloe sprint past, and a bleeding Tora being carried in someone’s arms. And then an out of breath Jake a few feet away. “Jake!” Adam says. He grabs him by the shoulders. “You okay, man?” “Yeah, I’m g-good.” “Where are Alec and Cole?” “Alec--he went to go f-find Roxie, and Cole, the last I s-saw him, he was still f-fighting infected. H-he wasn’t behind me,” Jake says. “Oh, shit, fucking perfect,” Billie says. “We’re leaving really soon, and we can’t sit here and wait if she has some more shit up her sleeve,” Duke says. “You coming, or no?” “I’m going back, I told you. If they’re not dead, I’m going back for them.” Duke looks to Adam and Jake, as a few of the cars begin to speed away. “I’m g-going,” Jake says. Not only for Cole, but a chance at Roxie. If Alec didn’t deal with her already. “They could be in there, Duke,” Adam says. “Look, I care about them too, but this place is a ticking time bomb, and if we can prevent any more death, then let’s fucking do that. But you’re obviously not gonna listen to me. I’m looking out for y’all.” He turns away and jogs to the nearest car, hopping into the back seat. “I’ll bring a car around, okay?” Adam says, and Billie nods. She doesn’t hear anymore gunfire from inside, but she’s not sure how long that’s going to last. “Y-you okay? How’d it g-go?” Jake asks. Billie completely ignores the question in attempts to keep her mind off of Luke. “You said Alec left to get Roxie? To where?” she asks. “I don’t know. A house, he wasn’t r-r-really specific about it.” “And what about Cole?” “N-near the south end, I th-think.” “You’re not sure?” “Look, I don’t kn-know! It was all really cr-crazy and I was trying to g-get away.” Billie sighs and takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry. We just need to hurry the fuck up and do this.” ---- Cole has since been spotted by the group of men, and he runs on the edge of the camp as they pursue him. They’re pretty far away, but they still fire the occasional shot. He stops behind a vacant home to catch his breath; he thinks they didn’t see where he’s hidden, but he’s not sure. But then he looks up, and he’s face to face with an infected. It lunges at him and he lets out an involuntary yell, but he grabs it and throws it to the ground, quickly stomping on its head. He’s realized his mistake and makes a break for it again, but he’s stopped once again by a man with a shotgun. Cole raises his hands in defense and knows he has no chance. He waits to be blown away, but a woman approaches from behind. “Hey. Roxie said bring in the stragglers,” the woman says, and she eyes Cole up and down with disgust. “NoW that we pushed most of them out.” “Damn. Lucky motherfucker,” the man says, his voice an intimidating baritone. “Actually, maybe not so lucky,” he adds with a smug grin. Category:Dead Frontier Category:Dead Frontier Issues Category:Issues Category:Walkerbait22's Stories